History of Computing at Colombo

In 1978, the Demographic Training & Research Unit (DTRU) of the University of Sri Lanka, Colombo Campus, acquired an IBM computer system—the first computer to be installed in a non‑computing academic unit within the entire University system.

With this background in mind, I began searching for any trace of the machine once assigned to the DTRU at the University of Colombo.

That search led to an unexpected and delightful discovery.

Prof E L Sunethra J Perera mentioned that there was “a computer in the storeroom” and invited me to take a look. When I visited the Department of Demography, I found—carefully stored away in their warehouse—an Apple IIc computer. This was not the IBM system I had been searching for, but it was an equally valuable artifact from the early era of personal computing.

The Apple IIc is a machine we do not currently have in the UCSC Computer Museum. Its arrival fills an important gap in our collection, representing a generation of compact, user‑friendly microcomputers that shaped the computing landscape of the 1980s.

This Apple IIc will soon take its place in the UCSC Computer Museum, preserved as a testament to the evolution of computing in Sri Lanka and the institutions that embraced these technologies early.